The UK is trying to leave the European club – in Italy, the club is on fire January 31, 2019 After Tuesday’s parliamentary showdown, all eyes are on Westminster. Don’t be misled, though – the real existential threat to the EU lies in Rome. In the UK, we are debating how to leave the golf club. In Italy, the golf club is likely to be swamped by an approaching tsunami. There may not be a [...]
Britain has never understood the fervour for the EU project January 31, 2019 What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? It would appear that we are about to find out in the latest instalment of the Brexit soap opera that has been running since we announced our intention to leave in 2016. For no sooner had MPs voted on Tuesday night to back Sir Graham [...]
Let it be: London councils should allow offices and shops to be converted into homes January 31, 2019 Amid all the Brexit brouhaha in Westminster it is important that parliamentarians do not forget the many other issues that affect people's day-to-day lives. Bravo, therefore, to MP Chris Philp for reminding Theresa May during yesterday's Prime Minister's Questions that the dream of homeownership remains all too elusive for many young adults – particularly in [...]
German inflation holds steady amid gloomy outlook for 2019 growth January 30, 2019 Inflation in Germany remained flat in January as the eurozone’s largest economy issued a gloomy forecast for 2019 growth. Consumer prices in Germany rose 1.7 per cent year-on-year, holding steady from the rate in December and in line with estimates from economists polled by Reuters. The figures came shortly after the German government cut its [...]
Lending to consumers slows as credit card borrowing falls amid Brexit uncertainty January 30, 2019 Lending to British consumers grew at its slowest rate in four years in December, as credit card borrowing fell sharply in the run up to Brexit. Annual consumer credit growth slowed to 6.6 per cent, the Bank of England said. Credit card borrowing was “particularly weak”, the bank said, and households put more money into [...]
French economic growth beats forecasts despite yellow vest protests and global trade tensions January 30, 2019 The French economy beat expectations in the fourth quarter of last year despite the ‘gilets jaunes’ protests and global trade tensions. French GDP grew by 0.3 per cent in the three months to December, it emerged today, against expectations of a 0.1 per cent rise, giving the eurozone a welcome boost. The end of 2018 in France [...]
On climate change, good economics sadly does not make good politics January 30, 2019 Economists, of all people, should understand the power of specialisation. They are taught early that prosperity is founded on the division of labour: individuals becoming more productive in specific tasks. Yet when dispensing policy advice, they seem to ignore that lesson, presuming that they know better than politicians about good politics. Economists frequently claim that [...]
AI has not yet spurred a productivity boom, but just you wait January 30, 2019 Nobel laureate Bob Solow pronounced 30 years ago that “you can see the computer age everywhere but in the productivity statistics”. At the start of the 1980s, the world entered the digital age. Fax machines transformed communications. The introduction of personal computers made high-powered computing available to all. But it took time to work out [...]
Personal insolvencies reach seven-year high as credit squeezed and wages stagnate January 29, 2019 The number of people in England and Wales turning to insolvency to deal with debt problems has risen to a seven-year high as consumer credit tightens and wages stagnate. There were 34,108 individual insolvencies in the fourth quarter, an increase of 34.8 per cent on the third quarter. In 2018 the number of people who [...]
The Eurozone is at risk of renewed crisis in 2019 – and this time it’s all about Italy January 29, 2019 After a dismal 2018, December brought further bad news for the Eurozone in the form of the European Commission’s economic sentiment indicator. Despite hopes that last year would see an escape from the ongoing repercussions of the 2011-2013 euro crisis, confidence across sectors has taken a hit, with only retail trade remaining a bright spot. [...]
